Uniformed division police officers of the US Secret Service carry a toddler who crawled over the White House fence on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington on Tuesday.
Nancy Benac/AP
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Nancy Benac/AP
Uniformed division police officers of the US Secret Service carry a toddler who crawled over the White House fence on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington on Tuesday.
Nancy Benac/AP
WASHINGTON — A curious toddler on Tuesday earned the title of one of the youngest White House intruders after he scaled the metal fence on the north side of the executive mansion.
Officers of the Uniformed Division of the United States Secret Service, who are responsible for security at the White House, walked across the North Lawn to retrieve the tot and reunite him with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue. Access to the complex was briefly restricted while officials conducted the reunification. The officers briefly questioned the parents before letting them continue on their way.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said officers “encountered a curious young visitor along the north fence line of the White House who briefly entered the White House grounds.”
“White House security systems instantly alerted Secret Service officers and the toddlers and parents were quickly reunited,” he said in a statement.
It may be the first successful intrusion into the complex by the White House fence was double in height to about 13 feet (3.96-meters) in recent years after a series of security breaches. While taller, the new fence has an additional inch of space between the pickets, for a total of 5½ inches (12.7 centimeters) between the posts.
Older children sometimes get stuck in the iconic barrier, which was also the scene of demonstrations, with the demonstrators joining the fence.
